connection flow

[advan]

Hello. Can I please ask for some advice? I've been having problems with my intermittent internet connection for almost 2 mos now and would like to understand where the problem is coming from. My ISP always blames my router, but I have doubts.

My set up: cable line > modem > router > ethernet desktop PC / wifi laptop

1. Please see attached tracert results. Hop2 is always like that, always lags. Do I understand it right that this refers to the connection between my modem and my ISP (= not concerning the router at all)? The blocked out part is the ISP DNS (I'm not sure if I should block it or not, but to be safe...)

2. When I ping -t my router, < 1ms. When I ping my modem, < 2 ms. When I ping my ISP DNS, < 2ms --- so why does it keep lagging in the tracert hop2?

3. When I ping -t google.com, ms fluctuates from a few 30ms to 200ms to 400 ms, with "request timeouts" sprinkled randomly.

4. All the while, speedtest shows 2-3mbps speed results when I have to reload some site more than once because it times out.

5. Is there a way to test if the router is malfunctioning aside from pinging?

How do I determine where's the problem with technical proof because ISP's CSR keeps jerking me around?

Thanks!

trace.JPG

[Midknyte]

If they are blaming the router, connect your PC directly to the cable modem and see what happens. Take the router out of the equation.

What are the make/model of your modem and router?

192.168.1.1 is probably your router. I can't really tell after that.

[advan]

Hi, Midknyte. Thanks for the reply.

I can't directly connect right now since there's something wrong with the ethernet port of my laptop, so it relies on wifi.

Modem: CISCO DPC2100R3 I (IP: 192.168.100.1)
Router: Wireless-N Broadband Router WRT160Nv2 (IP: 192.168.1.1)
Blocked out in the tracert above: the ISP's DNS

I'm not sure I'm correctly interpreting line 2 and 3 of the tracert above, but doesn't that mean my lags getting input from the ISP?

I tracert'd the modem as well and the trace22.JPG and the results are ok. With the current router setup, doesn't the fact that pinging/tracerting the modem results to < 1ms already 100% indicates that router-modem portion is working fine?

Thanks.

[Midknyte]

I can't directly connect right now since there's something wrong with the ethernet port of my laptop, so it relies on wifi.

Why can't you test it with the desktop? It would be just for testing for when you contact your ISP's tech support, not a permanent change.

I'm not sure I'm correctly interpreting line 2 and 3 of the tracert above, but doesn't that mean my lags getting input from the ISP?

If Line 1 is the router, then Line 2 should be to the ISP. At least, that's what I get when I tracert www.google.com.

doesn't the fact that pinging/tracerting the modem results to < 1ms already 100% indicates that router-modem portion is working fine?

Seems so, but in your first pic it hit the router and then lagged.

Did you update the firmware on your router? Is your router on a UPS?

[advan]

I can't connect it to the PC directly because the modem and router are far from it, with the LAN wires fixed behind walls. I don't have a loose LAN cable long enough reach from one room to the next.

If Line 1 is the router, then Line 2 should be to the ISP. At least, that's what I get when I tracert www.google.com.

Yea, that's how I'm interpreting it, but I'm not sure if it may mean I have problems sending out to the ISP that's wy they're not responding. I don't know if the last tracert column refers to the target of my outgoing data (= problem is from my side) or the source of incoming data (= problem is from ISPs side).

Seems so, but in your first pic it hit the router and then lagged.

Oh, do you mean in the 1st tracert, the modem IP should have appeared also as line 2? I assumed since it was the ISP's DNS that appeared in the 3rd line that was what it was finally trying to connect with after the lag in line2.

[advan]

Btw, router not on UPS but plugged to a voltage regulator? I don't think it's connected to the power supply since it's been setup this way for years and didn't have problems before... No firmware updates done to the router since we bought it years ago.

Edit: Forgot to ask-- how do I input OpenDNS instead of using the ISPs DNS? When I access the router and input the OpenDNS as static DNS, it will change and update the connection settings to the new DNS, but later on will revert to the ISPs DNS. Thanks!

[Midknyte]

I can't connect it to the PC directly because the modem and router are far from it, with the LAN wires fixed behind walls. I don't have a loose LAN cable long enough reach from one room to the next.

Well, the next logical step would be to test without the router. Maybe you can borrow a cable. Heck, see if someone has a spare router you can borrow. If the ISP is blaming your router, you need to take that out of the equation somehow.

Btw, router not on UPS but plugged to a voltage regulator? I don't think it's connected to the power supply since it's been setup this way for years and didn't have problems before... No firmware updates done to the router since we bought it years ago.

You should really have the router on a UPS. Power surges and sags can affect them in weird ways. You can try checking the Linksys site, but that is an older router. I just checked and I don't see any firmware downloads.

Not sure why your router can't hold the DNS address. This would be the OpenDNS setup for the WRT160N:
https://support.opendns.com/entries/...00-E3200-E4200

[advan]

That's the problem when the wires are behind walls and are in three different locations :/ Ok, will have to buy an extremely long cable. I was hoing the ping/tracert would be enough, I guess not.

Yes, the OpenDNS page you sent was exactly how I did it in the Setup page of the router, but when I check the status page after saving the changes, it reverts to the ISP's after a few minutes. I was hoping to use either that or google's 8.8.8.8 to test it out.

Thanks for all the help Midknyte.